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We dedicated this edition of the Galaxy to the memory of three special jazz composers and performers, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Tony Williams
A good description of what Duke Ellington accomplished could not possibly fit on this page. Suffice it to say that Duke was one of the true giants of Jazz. His influence runs rampant throughout the jazz world, even reaching out into the pop music of the day. Without Duke, Jazz would not be half of what it is today. Duke was born April 29, 1997.
Charlie Parker is probably the single most influential individual performer that Jazz has ever seen. His radical approach to improvisational playing revolutionized jazz, and now you can hardly listen to a saxophone solo without hearing the technique that was pioneered by Bird. I had information telling me that Charlie Parker was born on April 29th, but I have since learned that he was actually born on August 12. What the hey - if any performer could deserve two tributes, it would be the Bird!
By the time he was 17, Tony Williams had moved to New York and was playing gigs with Jackie McLean and Miles Davis. While with Miles Davis, he joined with Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter to form a legendary rhythm section. At the age of 18, he joined with Eric Dolphy to record Dolphy's classic avant guarde album "Out to Lunch". Williams played with Miles Davis until 1969, and in the process contributed to the dawning of the Fusion era with his playing in "Nefertiti", "Files de Kilimanjaro", "Miles in the Sky" and "In a Silent Way". After leaving Davis, Williams played with fusion groups such as Lifetime, then freelanced, playing with such luminaries as Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and Chet Baker, among others. Tony Williams died of heart failure on February 23, 1997.
| Composer | Performer | Title | Genre | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Ellington | DE -w- The Washingtonians | East St. Louis Toodle-oo | Jazz, Traditional | Okeh/Columbia, 1927 | Features Bubber Miley on trumpet |
| DE leading "Mills Ten Blackberries" | Black and Tan Fantasy | Okeh/Columbia, 1930 | features Cootie Williams on trumpet, Harry Carney on alto playing lead melody | ||
| DE -w- Orchestra | Hot and Bothered | Okeh/Columbia, 1928 | Features Johnny Hodges (alto), Bubber Miley (trumpet) and Baby Cox (vocals) | ||
| DE leading "Frank Brown and His Tooters" | Three Little Words | Okeh/Columbia, 1930 | Features Irving Mills, vocals | ||
| DE -w- Orchestra | Down in Our Alley Blues | Okeh/Columbia, 1927 | Features Harry Carney (bari sax), Louis Metcalf (trumpet), DE, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton (trombone), Ruby Jackson (clarinet | ||
| DE -w- Ella Fizgerald | Perdido | Verve, 1957 | Written primarily by Juan Tizol; features Ella, Harold Baker, Jimmy Hamilton, Clark Terry and Sam Woodyard | ||
| I'm Just A Lucky So & So | |||||
| Caravan | Developed from a theme by Juan Tizol | ||||
| Chelsea Bridge | Written by Billy Strayhorn, first recorded in 1941 | ||||
| Take the "A" Train | Written by Billy Strayhorn, first recorded in 1941; features trumpet solos by Clark Terry, Harold Baker, Willie Cook, Cat Anderson, Dizzy Gillespie (who was sitting in on the session) and Ray Nance | ||||
| I Got it Bad and That Ain't Good | Written in 1941, features Johnny Hodges | ||||
| DE -w- Orchestra | Mood Indigo | RCA, 1945 | Solos by DE, Al Sears (tenor sax), vocals by Kay Davis | ||
| In A Sentimental Mood | Solos by Otto Hardwick, DE, Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown, Rex Stewart | ||||
| It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) | Vocals by Marie Ellington (no relation), Joya Sherrill, Kay Davis; Solos by Taft Jordan, Al Sears | ||||
| Sophisticated Lady | Solos by Jimmy Hamilton, Cat Anderson | ||||
| Perfume Suite - Balcony Serenade; Strange Feeling; Dancers in Love; Coloratura | Co-written by Billy Strayhorn; vocals on "Strange Feeling" by Al Hibbler; solos by Cat Anderson, Strayhorn, DE, Ray Nance | ||||
| Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue | Columbia, 1956 | Tenor sax solo by Paul Gonsalves; Recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival, July 7, 1956 | |||
| Charlie Parker | Unknown | Klacktovedesteen | Jazz, Traditional | unknown | |
| Kim | unknown | ||||
| Little Benny | unknown | ||||
| CP -w- Kenny Dorham, Al Haig, Tommy Potter, Max Roach, Milt Jackson, Lucky Thompson | Half Nelson | Savoy | Recorded live at the Royal Roost, NYC, Feb. 26, 1949; Deedle and What's This also includes vocals by Dave Lambert and Buddy Stewart | ||
| Night in Tunisia | |||||
| Scrapple From the Apple | |||||
| Deedle | |||||
| What's This | |||||
| CP -w- Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Tommy Potter, Roy Hanes | Blue n' Boogie | Recorded live at Birdland, NYC, March 31, 1951; 'Round Midnight written by T. Monk; Night in Tunisia written by Gillespie; one of only two appearances with both Gillespie and Powell | |||
| Anthropology | |||||
| Round Midnight | |||||
| Night in Tunisia | |||||
| Miles Davis -w- George Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams | Joshua | Jazz, Traditional | Columbia, 1964 | Recorded live at the Lincoln Center, Feb 12, 1964 | |
| Brandford Marsalis -w- Kenny Kirkland, Robert Hurst, Tony Williams | The Wrath (Structured Burnout) | Jazz, Traditional | Columbia, 1987 | ||
| Herbie Hancock -w- George Coleman, Ron Carter, Tony Williams | The Eye of the Hurricane | Jazz, Traditional | Blue Note, 1965 | ||
| Greg Osby | 2nd Born to Freedom | Jazz, Traditional | Blue Note, 1996 | Used as instrumental outtro | |
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Last Update: May 7, 1997
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